


Worth Every Ounce Of Heartbreak

by Bonnerin0



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:21:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24176545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bonnerin0/pseuds/Bonnerin0
Summary: After managing to ressurect Shadow, Vio pays him a late night visit.Fluff ensues.
Relationships: Shadow Link/Vio Link
Comments: 8
Kudos: 144





	Worth Every Ounce Of Heartbreak

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my sleep-deprived, Sleeping At Last fueled Vidow fluff. I'll maybe edit this later when I have time. I just wanted to write something sweet while longing for human contact.
> 
> Im posting this on mobile, so let's hope this doesn't suck B]

In the silence of the night, Vio's footsteps echoed through the empty castle corridors. The candle being used to light his way was nearly useless, his feet having taken this journey dozens of times. He could take this route while sleepwalking. 

It's light was still somewhat appreciated, as he needed to keep an eye out for his fellow heroes or any stray guards. Sneaking around in the dead of night wasn't exactly heroic, and he didn't need the others finding out about his nighttime trips. Wandering through archways that dwarfed him with ease, Vio kept one hand tucked carefully in front of the candle's meager flame as he made his trek. No matter how many times he traversed these velvet-carpetted halls, the eerie silence would always manage to spook him.

Portraits of royalty past hung solemnly on the walls, silent sentries that had witnessed every one of Vio's journeys. Like the oppressive silence, their unchanging expressions always found a way to unnerve the lilac-clad hero. 

He always hurried down that hallway a little faster than normal. 

After descending a winding spiral staircase, Vio arrived at the castle's first floor. Here the kitchens, throne room, and medical wing sat unoccupied, but they weren't the hero's destination. Though he did throw a longing glance down the corridor leading to the pantry. 

Ridding his thoughts of midnight snacks, Vio soldiered on through the vacant hallways. Even in the lull of the night, its grandeur wasn't lost on him. Evenly spaced archways supported intricately carved ceilings, painted gold to compliment the rich wine red of the carpet and curtains that hung limply at the sides of floor-to-ceiling windows. Their polished glass panes were sectioned off on the same intricate design; The Triforce- haloed in light with rays beaming out in all directions. If he had more time, Vio might have stopped to admire the architecture of such a castle, but he was on a mission. He had a...friend to visit.

The bookworm came to stop at a set of large oak doors, the ornate heart container carved into their center indicated that he'd arrived at his destination. The Medical Wing. 

Pushing aside the melancholy that threatened to constrict his throat, he pushed one large door open with minimal difficulty and crept inside. To his relief it was just as empty as the rest of the castle. Vio's sigh of relief extinguished his candle prematurely, but he soldiered onward. 

Empty beds passed by in his peripherals before he came to another door, this one far smaller than the last. Fishing a small silver key from his pocket, he briefly ran the pads of his fingers over the iron where he assumed the keyhole was. His search barely lasted a second before he slid the key into the lock, and opened the door before pocketing the metal object once more. With a heavy sigh, he turned his gaze towards the figure that slept soundly in a patch of moonlight that filtered in through a solitary window across from the bed.

Returning Shadow to the world of the living had been an exercise in willpower, and a hellish one at that. Hyrule was not keen on aiding the perceived enemy, so research on reviving beings made of shadows was hard to come by and he'd been made to jump through several hoops to even look at the treasured info. Even then, the results given were inconclusive at best. Vio had not even been certain that his efforts weren't for naught. 

But then, oh, but then that fateful afternoon arrived. 

Vio remembered it clear as day, he poured hours of time and effort into that moment after all. In the depths of the castle dungeon, he propped up a large mirror against the cobblestone wall. The ritual had to be performed in as much darkness as possible, so this was the only location he felt was suitable. With trembling hands, he drew a semicircle of symbols with onyx black sand, and stepped a few paces back. Pale fingers laced together in prayer in front of his chest as an incantation left his lips, the glass of the mirror rippling in time with his words. 

When Vio's spell came to a close, it took everything in his power for him to open his eyes and see the results of his ritual. The glass had stilled, the sand lay undisturbed. 

He'd failed. 

Lower lip trembling, Vio considered retrieving his journal and a torch to see where he'd gone astray, but before he could move his reflection jolted. Its blonde hair became purple, its pale complexion became olive with shard-like scars fanning out from its palms to its elbows, its ocean blue eyes flickered crimsom. And then it collapsed out of the mirror and onto the unforgiving floor. Vio recalled falling to his knees then, before scrambling to cradle the newly resurrected Shadow to his chest with overwhelming relief flooding his being. 

Shadow had been taken to the medical wing, where his health could be monitored while Vio explained what happened. The brutal lecture he'd received from Green was worth it. So so worth it. 

Removing himself from his reverie, Vio set the candleholder on the table beside the bed and took a seat in one of the nearby chairs. Calloused, pale fingers clasped scarred olive digits and squeezed with loving concern as Vio's gaze washed over Shadow's peaceful expression. Under any other circumstance, he would love to see the other look so at ease. Seeing his ever-expressive face look so...unbothered still didn't sit right with Vio. He was sure it never would. 

At some point his other hand had come up to grasp Shadow's hand as well as tears began to sting at the corners of his eyes. Hanging his head, Vio made no attempt to blink them away as he pressed Shadow's knuckles against his forehead. 

"Please...Hylia I beg of you..." He murmured, fighting to keep his whispered words even as he squeezed his eyes shut. "I implore you...don't take him away from me again. I won't be able to handle the grief a second time... not after I've fought so hard for his return..." Vio was the least overtly religious of the four, but he couldn't help but send his pleas skyward in the hopes that some deity would hear. 

Tears had begun flowing in earnest now, cascading down his face and falling to the floor only to shatter into tiny droplets of misery. How fitting, he thought, that the least emotional member was the distraught. 

Lifting his head, Vio brought one hand up to lightly push aside a lock of long blonde hair with a sniffle. A self deprecating chuckle escaped him- what would his teammates say if they caught him in this state, he wondered? He decided he didn't want to know. 

"You look far more handsome with long hair...I realized...."

Tearful blues snapped to the figure on the bed, finding drowsy ruby eyes looking back at him. A mockery of a once impressive impish grin slid across the seated shadow's lips as his fingers loosely laced with Vio's. 

"Miss me, Vivi?" The purple haired boy teased, before huffing in surprise as his hand was dropped and he was pulled into a bruising embrace, his arms being pinned to his sides as the blonde buried his face in his shoulder and wept. Even with his mobility limited, he brought his hands up to grip the back of Vio's tunic with a sympathetic smile. Every sob that wracked the hero's form worked to deepen Shadow's pity. 

"Oh, you poor thing...what happened? Did Red and his fire rod get ahold of your precious books?" The snark was palpable, and Vio couldn't have felt more conflicted at its presence. The hero pulled back hesitantly, one hand clinging subtly to Shadow's bicep. Just in case. 

In case of what, he did not know.

"What happened? What happened?! Shadow, I thought I lost you! Y-You died in my arms and I did jack shit to stop it!" The blonde cried, causing the other boy to wince at his volume. "Sorry..."

"No worries, but I gotta disagree with you." 

"What's there to disagree with me about? I expect you of all people to recall your...your..."

"Shhhh, Vivi, I know what you mean. But you're still wrong for once, because you did do something to stop it. I'm here now, am I not?" In his emotional distress, Vio hadn't even thought to see it that way. Lightly freckled knuckles reached up to wipe away his tears as he let Shadow's words sink in. 

"Thought so." The shadow said with no small amount of satisfaction. "To think it took me dying to win an argument." He mused aloud, drumming his pointed fingernails against Vio's bicep in a mirror image of the way the hero held him.

"How can you be so...so nonchalant about it? Aren't you angry with me? Or-or at the very least upset?" Vio questioned, his eyes darting to the space beside Shadow on the bed. 

"One question at a time, Vio." Shadow soothed, his free hand lifting to gently cup the blonde's cheek and use his thumb to wipe away the remaining tears. 

"I had all the time in the world to pick apart how I felt." He said, ignoring the confusion that settled in Vio's brows. "I will admit, I was pissed off back when the wound was fresh or whatever, but I thought to myself 'Vio's smart, right? Surely he thought of every plan in the book before he came to betrayal', and I stuck with that. Besides, if I was truly mad at you, I wouldn't have done what I did." Shadow explained. 

Vio seemed to lose some of the tension in his shoulders as the words sank in, smoothing over the cracks that had formed in his heart since the Dark Mirror's shattering. Swallowing thickly, the hero gave a subtle nod as he took a deep breath. "And why you're so indifferent to your own demise...?"

Ah, that.   
A small exhale escaped Shadow in place of a laugh as he gazed at Vio's hand settled shakily on his arm. "I saw it as a necessary sacrifice. Nothing more, nothing less. I felt I was going to suffer either way- at the hands of Ganon for letting my guard down or at the hands of the Light for merely existing. I figured why not blaze my own trail? Prove someone wrong, catch someone off guard, one last time. Personally I feel I did a pretty killer job." 

Honestly, Vio shouldn't have expected anything less from Shadow. A wet chuckle breezed past Vio's chapped lips as he shook his head slowly. "A-Always have to have the last laugh, don't you?" 

Shadow nodded, his impish grin returning with just a little more feeling behind it. "Guilty as charged. Now get over here, I missed you."

Well...who was Vio to deny him? 

With little effort, Vio climbed into the bed to lay beside Shadow with a subdued smile. He was having a hard time processing everything he was feeling, so settled on just letting all his emotions run their course for now and picking them apart later. When he was more stable. Less tired. 

The blonde hero found himself humming contentedly as Shadow's hand slid up his arm to rest on his cheek, the other resting firmly on his lower back to keep him from leaving. Not that he would even think about it. In turn, Vio let himself gently grip the back of Shadow's tunic and bury his face in the other boy's chest while their legs tangled together loosely. The faint scent of petrichor clung to the fabric, filling him with a sense of calm he hadn't known in a long time.

He doesn't know how long he laid there, basking in Shadow's presence without saying a word. At some point the violet haired boy began tracing idle patterns on his back with his nails, just to revel in the pleased sighs he would give. A hazy cloud of drowsiness settled in his head as the patterns continued, time seemingly melting away as he nuzzled against the crook of Shadow's neck. 

The boy holding him barely reacted, a simple giggle filling the air as he turned his head down slightly. Ocean blue eyes fluttered open halfway when Shadow's hand urged him to tilt his head upward to meet his gaze, meeting scarlet irises in as a result. If he were any more awake, he would have hidden his blushing face upon being confronted with such an adoring gaze. Instead, Vio's lips curled into a loopy grin. What had this boy done, turning him into such an expressive mess? 

"Can I kiss you...? Please?"

What...? Vio raised an eyebrow at the other boy's question, but he didn't pull away or retreat. "I'm sorry...could you repeat that...?" Was his whispered request. He had to be sure he heard correctly. Vio wouldn't allow himself to get his hopes up. 

"Can I kiss you?" Shadow asked more firmly this time around. "I-it's okay if you say no. You just looked so beautiful that I had to at least ask-"

"Yes."

"And I get it if you just wanted to cuddle because you missed me, but only like me platonically bu- huh?"

"Yes, please. Kiss me all you like."

As soon as the last syllable faded into the minimal space between them, Shadow clumsily pressed his lips against Vio's. Their teeth clicked painfully, causing both parties to pull away with matching blushes. 

"Um...one more try?" Shadow mumbled bashfully, before regaining his confidence upon seeing Vio's affirmative nod. 

The second try was more enjoyable by far, with their teeth having been left out of the equation. Vio swore he felt himself melt further into Shadow's embrace as his lips slotted easily against his partner's. His hands gripped the other boy's tunic as Shadow put a few centimeters between them to catch his breath, before diving right back in with newfound vigor. Vio was more than happy to reciprocate, his eyes sliding closed as he lost himself to the warmth of Shadow's kiss. 

When the two finally parted for good, Vio found himself mourning the loss of such an all-encompassing affection. Shadow didn't need to vocalize his feelings, his kiss had said everything he wanted Vio to know. Yet he spoke anyway. 

"I love you so much, Vio, so so much. Can we do that more often?" 

"If you agree to be my boyfriend, we can do that as much as you want." 

"You've got yourself a deal, Vivi. Care to go again?"

"Please-" 

Shadow grinned, his claw-like nails tracing the curve of Vio's jaw before pulling him into another breathtaking kiss. As the air was effortlessly drawn from his lungs once again, Vio determined that this moment was worth every ounce of heartbreak it took. 


End file.
